A CVS pharmacy.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

CVS will buy Aetna, one of the country's largest health insurers, for $69 billion, the companies announced Sunday.

Aetna insures around 22 million people, while CVS runs more than 9,700 drugstores and 1,100 walk-in clinics. The deal, which must be approved by antitrust regulators, has CVS Health Corp. paying $207 in cash and stock for each share of Aetna Inc. The acquisition could lead to CVS turning its stores into places where customers can do more than just pick up their prescriptions and basic household items, like have their blood drawn or meet with a nurse practitioner.

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Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.